Unaware Choices
by iheartCSI4326
Summary: [DL] They don't know it. But it's there right in front of them. And it always has been. [No spoliers]
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** All characters belong to someone other than me. Unfortunately. Godamnit.

**Paring:** D/L.. just reminding you in case you were not sure.

**Spoilers:** None at the moment. Might change. Might not.

**Season:** None. I never really have a season, well obviously it's set after S1. We do after all have Lindsay. ;)

**AN:** This fic was not planned. I apologize to all waiting for updates for other fics, I've been having a slight-- no, very strong writers block. One of my best friends ever, Brittney; she helped me SO much, and I owe her forever... she got me back into gear. So you can all thank her for the updates I'll have soon. If you haven't read her amazingly wonderful CSI fics have a look. They rock. As does she. Brittney AKA.. - **Teliko. x3 **- Mwuah. Love ya Britt.

Read and Review. I love to know everyone's thoughts. I write for ya'll. Kay. Unplanned.. and random D/L fic this way...

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**Unaware Choices.**

By Lila Wills.

Shoving her hands deeper into her pockets Lindsay trudged her way toward the lab. Even though her apartment was nearly 20 blocks away. She figured she needed the exercise. Not to mention; in the cold weather that New York was getting... she needed more importantly to keep herself warm.

"Moooontaaaaaannnaaaaa!" Brought her right out of her thoughts of warm fire places and hot chocolate which she was using as a motivator so she would get to the Lab and not freeze to death trying to make it there. She lifted her head up and curiously looked across the road... of course she knew that only one person in-fact called her by her native state. And said person stood on the opposite side of the road with his hands buried into his jeans much like her and a satisfied smirk that he caught her attention on his face. Although she knew it was hard to miss her... damn she hated her hat. Bright ugly thing with a pom-pom on it... present from her four-year old niece... she promised to wear it - only now regretting that decision.

Choosing to ignore him as long as she could, she kept walking. Even though she was walking at a sort of slow pace. She felt a presence beside her and glanced over before looking straight ahead of her at the pavement.. mainly because it had been snowing for the last three days and she didn't want to slip.. and he was adding himself onto that list of things that could could keep her warm. It wasn't that she didn't like his company. But it was bugging her that he could cause such thoughts and feelings. She wasn't a control freak.. well, not necessarily. She did hate losing control. But with him - it was as if she could do nothing but sit back and watch her feelings decide things without her.. and for Daniel Messer of all people.

"I'm invisible obviously. Or ya' are ignoring me," the Staten Island Detective said moving over to the other side of her, with a idiotic grin plastered on his face. Maybe she wasn't the only one with a certain list. He had been miserable since he had got off the subway... he had been having the worst morning. Worst luck maybe...

His coffee machine broke. Most of his t-shirts had shrunk... some new tenant in the building had broken the dryer in the buildings laundry room; after a tiring long shift he wasn't paying too much attention to what condition the dryer was in, so in return... he had about ten t-shirts the size of a dwarf. He broke the front of his shoe tripping on a broken pavement stone on his way to the subway. Then, once out of the cold and on the subway.. the driver announces that there are delays due to construction - and also that the train was terminating at that particular stop for engineering reasons.

So.. he grumbled under his breath about tax payers money going down the drain slowly by slowly seeing as it definitely wasn't going into the public transport system and walked back out into the harsh January weather.. and snow. He had been thinking of taking the forensics conference that Mac had offered to any of the team. It would be a probably well needed vacation, he had been so stressed out. Maybe it would be good.. and where did Mac mention it was again... San Diego, Seattle.. no... somewhere southern he remembered. Since he had joked to Montana; Lindsay, that he would be surrounded by southerners, and why Mac would do that to him... country people were enough torture. It only earned eye rolls from most of them and a unconvinced look from Stella. Lindsay didn't say anything, she did nothing but smile at him. Obviously.. everyone was unconvinced that he found being around the country girl anything but torturous. When had everyone known how he felt, when he half the time was always coming to forks in the road with her and his feelings toward her.

He wasn't much of a person for denial - being a CSI taught you the truth, and denial was about ignoring the truth in-front of you. But in his own personal life.. that was a different story there. He had lied, maybe more so in his love life; even though he had never considered it lying... as it wasn't his love life, the word was a very unconnected emotion to him. All the girls he ever knew were more like acquaintances, any other word to describe them was just hurtful, degrading and ended up making him look like the bad guy. Which he never wanted to feel like, he got away from that and grew up different to his family. He was the good guy, he worked in law enforcement - the side of law enforcement that proved peoples guilt in crimes and murders, or in the very rare and not so true times, peoples innocence. But that never happened. Everybody had something to hide. And everybody lied. Lies that became complicated. He knew this, he did lie. Maybe not on choices he liked.. but he did it to protect himself, and in the end the women he slept with. He knew that he was just trying to secure everything, make it so everything always went along smoothly. Nothing ever stayed so good and with so very few bumps.

He had thought that, now though; he was beginning to see another side to things, life in general. Lindsay Monroe. Who knew, one person could teach him so much on things that he though both impossible for him, and so reachable. Now, of course. He didn't realize his feelings. Yet. So, maybe... he was in denial. Denial because love was never something that he had learnt... she was showing him what it was. Without her even knowing it either. Love, they say it blinds you. But for them, maybe it was blinding them for the better.. Lindsay would never think such thoughts that she could fall for a staten island guy who was, from the rumors and such gossip she had heard.. a player that had family connected to the Tanglewood Boys, a known mob-like gang. Her, Lindsay Monroe from Montana.. and him, she would never think such a thing. And Danny, he didn't even dream that her and him was a slightest possibly, after all.. not only was she a country girl. She was just too perfect, he deep down loved that about her.. but for him, he wouldn't want to damage that perfectness with his dark past and his lifestyle. After all, she was so kind; nice, lovely, caring, strong, passionate. He could make a long list of the things she was.. all the things that made her so special without even blinking. Hell, he could most probably write it in his sleep, no sweat. But such qualities mixed with his... would make a bad recipe. It was dangerous. And... he just wasn't about to put her through that.

But what he wasn't aware of. Was that it was happening. Love. Love for her. Loving her. It had started happening the day he met her.. and as time grew. So did his feelings. It had happened right in-front of his eyes. And he hadn't even seen it. Not that Lindsay was any better. So, both unaware. Of what was there maybe all along. Denial... they were in it together.. sharing it.

Now... only one thing. They needed to realize it all.

Easier said then done.

**TBC.**

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Un-beta'd. So blame me all you want for grammar, spelling mistakes.. etc etc.

Hope you all like it. And I plan on continuing it.. that is if ya'll want me to. :)

Love. Hugs. Moo.

**Lila.**


	2. Interest

**Unaware Choices**

'Interest.'

If there was one thing Lindsay hated more than de-comp. It was those cases, where the body was mummified. She wasn't exactly squeamish.. and in her line of work, she had seen her fare share of odd and bizarre; maybe better said... gross circumstances, evidence, dead bodies. The reason for her hate.. they freaked her out, creeped her out, however you want to phrase it.

She rubbed her forearm willing the goose-bumps to go as she ducked under the crime tape, gripping her hand on her silver kit she nodded toward the officer at the door and headed inside. Following where he had pointed she got closer to the voices from inside a adjoining room, two male ones... one serious and focused, Mac. Easy to recognize. And even though she knew who was at the scene, she tried not to let her mind run away from her at the second voice.. rough, with a soft rich tone to it, thick accent that seemed to waver into a more relaxed manner unless he had that frown on his face during a investigation and he was concentrating... she would know his voice anywhere.

"Messer. Next time you call a girl on her day off... try bribing her instead, it might actually go over easier," Lindsay commented, though her focus was from putting on her gloves to looking down at the body in-front of her boss and her, and her _coworker._ Sometimes she wasn't sure what to label Danny Messer when it came to her relationship to him. _Used to hate him, because of the teasing, the nickname, now don't hate him, kinda like the nickname... _what do you call that.

"Bribe an NYPD detective, Monroe?" He chuckled, lifting his head up from where he had been looking over the body with his mag-lite.

"Something would be nice, I was in the middle of a DVD marathon with my date," she was vaguely aware of Mac walking over to talk to the owner of the antiques store.

Danny made a slight cough in the back of his throat and nodded. "Hawkes is still at that conference and Stella is swamped with that Date-Rape case, Mac told me to call you..."

"It's the job, Dan. And the date... happened to be with ice-cream." She said causally before letting her mood sober. She bent down to get a closer look. "Who's the victim?"

"Ella Leprose, 27." He shook his head to focus. Still caught up in the warmth he felt with her presence and the way she shortened his name. "She started working for the owner of Kerle Antiques two months ago, originally from Connecticut, her parents are French... got a degree in Egyptian artifacts and has a history major," he rattled off the information he had gathered from the owner's knowledge and what Flack had been able to find so far.

"I took history in eleventh grade," Lindsay stated getting back onto her feet from her kneeling position. "Once I got to the second world war, I took Spanish instead."

Danny went through his kit and took out the plastic tweezers, collecting a fiber in the victims hair. He would have made a joke about Lindsay learning spanish.. it would have been easy, if he wasn't so zoned in on processing.

"I don't see any sign of a obvious cause of death," she commented taking in the appearance of the mummified body. Most of the clothes were half intact apart from the few missing pieces of cloth, most likely disintegrated. Lindsay frowned, "How long has the owner not been in his own shop? It takes quite some time for a body to turn into a mummy."

"A month," Danny replied pushing his glasses on further with the back of his wrist.

"I'm guessing he hasn't seen Miss Leprose in awhile," she thinned her lips, turning her head to take a look at the owner who stood all the way outside talking to Mac.

"Body dump," he finished her line of thinking.

She nodded slightly in agreement. "The family been contacted?"

"Flack's on it."

Lindsay walked slowly around the tables and standing statues, various artifacts. Careful not to knock anything, it may be a crime scene.. but unless she had to, she would like to leave everything in one piece and untouched, after all - some of the things were after all, nearly hundreds of years old. She took a look around the room as she let her gaze linger on specific items that interested her. She wasn't sure what exactly she was looking for, but from the body, and from Danny had just told her. There was no sign of a murder weapon. She doubted someone would leave the murder weapon right in-front of her.. it was never that easy. But you never knew, maybe someone got impatient, stupid, more importantly, careless.

Once the scene had been processed top to bottom, side to front and thoroughly checked. Both Danny and Lindsay headed to the car with the evidence. The did make a good team. So in-sync. It made no sense to either of them.. but they didn't complain about it. It was comfortable, it just worked.

Danny nudged Lindsay gently, "Here you hand me all that and you can drive."

"You are letting me drive?" Lindsay would have whistled in disbelief if she wasn't still kinda of tense, she always felt this way at a crime scene.. mainly because she was at work, but seeing a someone's lifeless body made the mood dampen sadly, it was nice that even with it like that... Danny could smile at her and she would even just for a second, un-tense and smile back. Just because he made her feel like even if someone had died, life was still worth the attention.

"Yes. I'm letting _you_ drive," he grinned taking the evidence bags from her hands before taking them around to the boot of the car. Loading them in one by one. Pausing, he fished out his keys from his jeans and threw them to her.

As he knew she would, she caught them. "Sure about that?" She grinned as she opened the drivers side door and slipped into the seat, closing the door once seated.

After Danny got all the evidence into the boot he walked around the car and got in the car next to her. "Why wouldn't I be sure," he asked as she started the car, he looked out the window and up at the sky, sighing inwardly at the gray color of it.

Lindsay gave a shrug and turned on the radio. She waited for the roll of his eyes she knew was coming, or a comment.. but nothing. "Since when are you okay with me playing country music huh?" She raised an eyebrow, glancing side-ways at him as the light turned green and she focused on driving.

"I guess somethings you learn to love, or at-least like.. eh,_ Montana_."

"I suppose it's better than Jersey, or Oklahoma," she muttered under her breath, loud enough though in the car with just the two of them for him to hear.

A couple of seconds of silence and they both broke into laughter. He shook his head at her. "Watch where you are driving, I don't feel like seeing more of Sid than at work."

"Stop tellin' me how to drive, Messer," she smirked, still chuckling.

"You are spending way too much time around me," he rolled his eyes. "You tryin' to be a New Yorker just to stop me calling ya Montana.. not gonna happen."

"Want me to spend less time around you?"

"Why would I want that. It's too much fun now isn't it."

If they had been looking at each-other at the same time, it would be obvious that their smiles were just as bright. Horrible and depressing weather, dead bodies or not. The day wasn't so bad. They fell into a comfortable silence and not long after Lindsay pulled the car into park at the lab and they got out.

"I'm off to Trace," Danny said walking ahead of her and into the elevator with the evidence.

"I'm off to A/V," she replied, lifting up the bag in her hand that had surveillance tapes from outside the store and across the street bank's security cameras.

"Meet you when I find something, or come find me if you do first," he said as they both stepped off the elevator on the 35th floor.

She nodded and turned around briefly. "Okay. Will do."

By late lunch they had found nothing, no evidence that related to the case, nothing, no leads to the killer. In the end, Mac had sighed sadly and told them the case would be put under 'Unsolved'

Lindsay sat in the break-room and rubbed her forehead, she hated it when there was nothing. She hated it when the case was going to just sit there... that there would be no punishment for Ella Leprose's killer. Stirring her coffee she rested her head on her open palm, reading over the half filled report in-front of her. She felt someone tap her shoulder and looked up, she gave a small smile.

"Sometimes. We never find the answers," Stella said sitting herself down next to her.

"It's just-"

"Yeah," Stella nodded. "It is."

Lindsay sighed and signed her name on the paperwork with the date before closing it. Staring at it for a minute, she got up, tucked it under her arm and went to go to Mac's office to hand it to him.

"Mac got called on a re-opened case. You're on a B&E solo... pretty simple case, though the case needs someone to investigate it anyhow, leave the report on his desk, he'll get it, no hurry now."

Lindsay gave a nod. She opened the glass door and stopped for a minute, turning back to Stella she tilted her head. "You seen Danny?"

"Not really. Is it important? I can find him if you want," Stella replied, trying not to seem too interested. She couldn't help but be curious about whatever was going on between the two.

"No, it's okay. Haven't seen him in hours, just wondered," Lindsay shrugged before walking out on her way to Mac's office. Placing the file on his desk once there she headed toward the elevator on the way to the scene. She slowed her walking when she caught sight of Danny through the glass walls, from what she could see he was trying to keep his voice low.. he was taking to a blonde girl. Lindsay crossed her arms and looked on in either curiosity or maybe she was being too nosey.

"He's not the guy you think he is," Stella sided up next to her, catching what she was staring at.

Lindsay opened her mouth, shut it again and shook her head lightly. "I wasn't- well..."

"He can't break your heart, when his is already too damaged Linds." And with that Stella made her way in the opposite direction of the hall.

Lindsay stood silently puzzled, her mouth was dry and she blinked. What was Stella on about. Well, she had a case to work. She took one look again at Danny who now was standing there running his hand through his hair, then went off toward the locker-room with what she would call a frustrated expression. Brushing off the constant questions she had and the amount of things she couldn't help thinking after Stella's statement she sighed and went to get into the elevator.

Three hours later, Lindsay sat in the A/V lab - she had spent nearly all day in there, first with the Leprose case and now with the B&E. She rubbed her eyes that were almost burning now, she let her head lean back on the seat and let out a yawn. She had gone over the tapes so many times that she was sure that even if there was something, she wouldn't be able to see it now. She needed food, coffee, anything.

"Well you look like you're having a blast," Danny's voice got her attention and she lifted her head. He tapped on the glass with a smirk before walking in.

"You try staring at a screen so long you feel like you are made out of pixels yourself," she groaned.

He leant on the desk next to her, he looked at her and smiled. "I know the feeling. Come on," he nodded his head to the door. "I'll buy you some lunch. Since I'll take a wild guess that you forgot to eat."

Lindsay looked at her watch and sighed. She looked over at the screen that was displaying the tapes. She went to reply when something caught her eye. "Er-- rain check? I think I just solved the case," she said with her eyes still on the screen.

Danny nodded. Work always came first. "Sure," he held in his disappointment. But she seemed to be one of the few people that could read him like an open book.

She bit her lip and picked up the case file. "Uh, how about tomorrow?" She tried to offer. "Lunch..."

"And breakfast," Danny smirked. Her response was to raise both eyebrows. He chuckled. "I haven't spent too much time with my partner all week... so... how about I pick you up tomorrow and buy you breakfast, and lunch later," he crossed his arms nervously.

She got lost in thought for a second. Thinking about Stella's comment. _Damaged. _His heart was damaged? Danny Messer... she looked up at him as she contemplated what to say. "Lunch will do... but I'll think about it," she smiled warmly. "But you have to at-least let me buy you dinner," she added.

Now it was his turn to raise his eyebrows. She blushed and closed her eyes slightly. "You know.. you are buying lunch, and maybe breakfast, so it is only fare I pay for dinner..."

Danny leaned over closer to her and she let the words she was saying fade out slowly. "That time of the month?"

"Danny," she berated him, slapping his arm. She averted her eyes from him as she fought the urge between laughing and blushing, as normal reactions went when she was around him the latter won.

"You are just I don't know. More emotional today, and being nice, not that you aren't always nice..."

"Danny, you're rambling," she grinned getting up from her chair. "I'll talk to you later," she said, reading over the file as she left the room.

"Complete idiot," Danny muttered to himself and slumped into her recently vacated chair. This was why he hated long working hours... if he couldn't think straight.. he couldn't say what he wanted to say without rambling. He rolled his eyes as he sat in the A/V lab alone muttering things.

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"I... have never been a jerk."

Lindsay looked at him unconvinced as they got off the elevator. He had caught up with her just at the end of shift.

"Well, not intentionally," he shrugged in defeat. He sighed and smirked at her. "There has to be one thing about me that annoys you, and not just because when we first met I was a..."

"Jerk," she smirked.

"Yeah," he shook his head and chuckled, moving ahead of her to open the locker-room door.

"There isn't anything," she laughed. Biting her lip she shook her head with a smile. "Okay. That was a lie."

He tilted his head and followed her into the room. "Oh really?"

"Anyway. What is the point of this conversation? So I admit you are annoying?" She grinned. "Because if that's the case... I can just come out and say that if you'd like."

"Never mind," he sighed dramatically and sat down on the bench next to her. "So... Flack and Hawkes are going to Sullivans... you wanna come?"

"Do I have to?" She said stopping what she was doing for a second to speak before resuming.

"Come on, Montana," Danny pouted, trying to beg. But giving up, and trying not to smirk instead.

"I closed a case. The first open and shut one in weeks, Danny. I just want to go home - take a long bath..." She said, closing her locker only for it to stick. She sighed and continued, after slamming the locker. Making Danny jump and focus from her in a bath, to actually talking to his coworker in the locker-room at the lab.

"...and collapse onto my bed and sleep and sleep until someone dies and they ruin what sleep I manage to get thanks to the 20 odd cups of coffee, er--- coffee isn't exactly the perfect term to use, since it's so very far from the truth." She wrinkled her nose as she slipped her bag onto her arm, managing to button her jacket, put her scarf on and open the locker-room door at the same time. She did have a determined hard working streak, but when it came to it, she could balance just about everything.. when those things came in between her, and sleep.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" He raised his eyebrow as she walked off out into the hall.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer." She turned around, walking backwards slowly. Giving her time to sort out her scarf and tie it. She grinned as she kept walking backwards, Danny still standing in the locker room doorway - with his arm leaning on the door to hold it open as he looked at her, almost over the rims of his glasses.

"What offer is that, Montana? Im'a pretty generous guy," He tilted his head, letting the words roll off his tongue, letting his accent taint the words.

"If I have to get up at three-thirty in the morning... I at-least want a pretty sight and food to make up for it, and coffee wouldn't hurt," she said with what Danny could only describe as a either sparkle or twinkle in her eye. Or maybe it was that he thought everything about her was glowing and magical.

"You callin' me pretty?" He crossed his arms, letting his smirk form into a lop-sided grin... only slightly on the goofy side.

"No, Messer. Those fresh muffins you promised are the 'pretty sight'." And with that she spun back around on her heel and sashayed down the hall.

All Danny could do was stand.. and stare. Of course, he smirked as he mused why the sudden change in her... yes, she had always flirted back, been able to throw something right back at him. But now... well... since when did Lindsay Monroe... his partner... sashay her way down the hall...

Well. Maybe morning would help clear it up. After all, she was right. Coffee wouldn't hurt.

**TBC**

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If that made no sense, sorry. Half way I kind of lost sight of what I was doing. I also wrote it at like 4 in the morning. I have no idea where this is going really. No plot. But anyway.. I'll see where it goes, I have some ideas for it... it may only have about 6 chapters.. I'd like to actually finish one for once ;)

**Read and Review. **Without knowing what all ya'll think.. I don't know to keep going or not. And on another thing, updates should be more regular, I know I sort of stopped for those 2 months or so... but don't worry... I'm back. ahah.

Mistakes are probably there. Didn't read over it as much as I would like. Might check it and re-upload it later. Right now. Sleep calls.

Lila.


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